Character Concepts

The objective of our character design project [still a work-in-process] is to create two characters of any style and concept, and develop them from rough stages to final clean and coloured artwork. My concept was for a post-apocalyptic world fifty years into the future, specifically focusing on Tucson, Arizona. My two characters - a loner-drifter-bounty hunter-cowboy and giant science experiment gone horribly wrong - would meet here in the deserted landscape of a radiation-filled 'Wild West'. Below are some early concept pieces focusing on character number two, the science experiment, also known simply as Hubert. He was created by the state government to test the affects of radiation on creatures currently residing in the Tucson area, with the intention of relating their findings to the scattered settlements of humans that also reside in the state of Arizona.

These are early colour schemes done for Hubert. As a native creature of Arizona, I figured a deeper reddish-brown skin tone would be appropriate for something living in the desert. The skin itself would be tough and leathery, like that of a rhino, to give some protection from the harsh sun and sandstorms that frequent the area. The striped version in the bottom right-hand corner is one of my favourite concepts. They help to show the wide bulk of Hubert's massive body. Ultimately, however, I stuck with something much more similar to the top left-hand version. The bone structure is mostly taken from the skeleton of a bear, with a dropped pelvis. As I continued with this concept I also introduced various feline elements into his skeleton,and overall body shape, intending to give Hubert a bit more fluidity to his movements.

The next image shows concepts of the head. I wanted him to have an almost dinosaur feel to him, something a bit lizard-like that makes you think this creature has been around for many years but has evolved very little. Nevertheless he is suited to live in the heavily-radiated Arizona state. I considered giving Hubert a greenish skin tone as opposed to the red colour, but it ended up feeling like I was turning him into a dragon. The red and brown hues felt more natural overall. Running along the back of his spine are spokes of metal attached to the actual bone of his vertebrae. Government researchers are responsible for this mutation. The idea behind merging metal with bone was to strengthen the creature overall and examine the affects of radiated skin against common material such as metal. The research results ultimately found that the skin accepted the metal rather than rejected it, and with a slight increase of radiation to the metal itself they were able to successfully bond the metal pieces to Hubert himself. The darker bit of skin that is hanging around Hubert's neck on the left expands, as shown on the right, when he becomes angry or feels threatened. It also allows him to swallow food in larger pieces, since he doesn't have teeth for grinding or chewing - much like a crocodile.

Below is a quick character relationship showing the size of Hubert in comparison to Character One, an average man [or in this case the loner-drifter-bounty hunter-cowboy].